Sweets for Diwali

Diwali, from the Sanskrit Dipavali, meaning a row or series of lights, is the Hindu festival of lights, also celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It is widely linked with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. Food is a major part of it, with families feasting and sharing mithai.

The sweets

Mithai is the general word for the sweets of the Indian subcontinent. Many Indian sweets are fried, and many are made with sugar, milk or condensed milk, flavoured with almonds and pistachios, spiced with cardamom, nutmeg or cloves, and decorated with nuts or with gold or silver leaf.

• Barfi. A milk based sweet with a consistency like fudge, eaten throughout India and Pakistan and served at festivals such as Diwali and Holi: see fudge
• Laddu. A round sweet made from various ingredients bound with sugar syrup or jaggery. It has been described as "perhaps the most universal and ancient of Indian sweets", and laddus are served at celebrations, especially those linked with the god Ganesha.

The silver leaf question

The shining silver on many sweets is vark, a very thin leaf of silver. It was traditionally made by pounding silver between layers of ox gut or cow hide, because the leaf separates more easily from animal tissue than from paper. Because of concerns among the vegetarian population of India, manufacturers have moved to modern methods, beating the silver between treated paper or polyester sheets instead. There have also been concerns about purity and hygiene, as not all vark is pure silver. If it matters to you, ask the maker how theirs is made.

Allergy points

• Milk. Many mithai are made with milk or condensed milk: see milk in sweets
• Nuts. Many are flavoured or decorated with almonds and pistachios: see which sweets contain nuts?

When you give a box of sweets as a Diwali gift, it helps to say what is in them, or pass on the label.

In our pick and mix

For a sweet box to share, we sell Vanilla Fudge Cubes by the 100 g, alongside the rest of our pick and mix, and every card opens up to show the full ingredients and allergens. For more gift ideas, see sweet hamper ideas

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